Powers expects 22% Braintree turnout in Senate election

Wednesday

Jun 19, 2013 at 12:01 AMJun 19, 2013 at 7:18 PM

Although Town Clerk Joseph Powers would like his prediction to be proven wrong, he is anticipating that only 22 percent of Braintree’s 25,246 registered voters will go to the polls during the June 25 special election to fill the U. S. Senate seat vacated by Democrat John Kerry when he was sworn in as U. S. Secretary of State in February.

Bob Aicardi

Although Town Clerk Joseph Powers would like his prediction to be proven wrong, he is anticipating that only 22 percent of Braintree’s 25,246 registered voters will go to the polls during the June 25 special election to fill the U. S. Senate seat vacated by Democrat John Kerry when he was sworn in as U. S. Secretary of State in February.

William “Mo” Cowan is serving in the Senate until Democratic U.S. Rep. Edward Markey or Republican Cohasset businessman Gabriel Gomez is elected to complete Kerry’s term, which expires next year. Richard A. Heos of Woburn, the candidate of the Twelve Visions Party, also appears on the ballot.

“We’re always working with a 100 percent turnout in mind,” Powers said. “We’re never disappointed to see voters. We will be ready for them and welcome them with open arms.”

Local residents supported U. S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, a Democrat whose district includes Braintree, and former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan, a Republican, in the April 30 primary when turnout was 27 percent.

“The absence of a local favorite like Congressman Lynch on the ballot is one reason why I am expecting a lower turnout in the election than there was in the primary,” Powers said. “Another reason is timing. A lot of people are focused on summer vacations.”

Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in Braintree by a 9,096-2,815 margin, and there are 13,212 unenrolled residents. The remaining 123 are Libertarians or belong to other political parties.

The average turnout in Braintree in the three special state elections (Oct. 16, 2001; May 13, 2003; and Jan. 19, 2010) since 2001 was 46 percent.

The lowest was 22 percent in 2001, when Lynch was elected to succeed the late U. S. Rep. John Joseph Moakley, and the highest was 61 percent in 2010, when Republican Scott Brown upset Democrat Martha Coakley for the Senate seat formerly held by Edward Kennedy.

“We saw a tremendous surge in absentee ballot requests prior to the Brown-Coakley election,” Powers said. “We haven’t seen anything like that kind of activity for this election. Voters seemed to be much more motivated in 2010.”

The polls will be open on Election Day, which is also the last day of classes for Braintree students, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The polling location in Precinct 1A is the Marge Crispin Center at the rear of 74 Pond St. The polling location in Precinct 1B is Flaherty Elementary School at 99 Lakeside Drive.

The polling location in Precinct 2A is Hollis Elementary School at 482 Washington St. The polling location in Precinct 2B is the St. Thomas More Parish Hall at 7 Hawthorn Road.

The polling location in Precinct 3A is Ross Elementary School at 20 Hayward St. The polling location in Precinct 3B is in the lower level of the recreation and community events building at 85 Quincy Ave.

The polling location in Precinct 4A is East Middle School at 305 River St. The polling location in Precinct 4B is Morrison Elementary School at 260 Liberty St.

The polling location in Precinct 5A is town hall at 1 JFK Memorial Drive. The polling location in Precinct 5B is Liberty Elementary School at 49 Proctor Road.

The polling location in Precinct 6A is South Middle School at 232 Peach St. The polling location in Precinct 6B is Highlands Elementary School at 144 Wildwood Ave.